Tag: career advice | Page 2 | Artisan Creative

What is CX?

Wednesday, May 29th, 2019|

According to design thought-leader John Maeda, Customer Experience, or CX, “is a term that roughly encompasses marketing, product, support, design, and HR (employee experience).” The CX perspective sees every touchpoint in terms of an overall customer journey. CX best practices encourage businesses to differentiate in terms of product, the overall value created for a customer and to communicate through an open, continuous feedback loop enabled by real-time research and social media interaction.

CX is a broad field with an open, evolving landscape. Here are some key areas of CX knowledge for creative business leaders and potential opportunities for creative job seekers considering CX or CX-adjacent creative careers.

Design

As a design discipline, CX is similar to, yet distinct from, UX, or User Experience design. Per the Interaction Design Foundation, “CX design and user experience (UX) design are sometimes used interchangeably because both are concerned with the overall experience of using a product or service… CX design tends to adopt a broader view than UX, and has a slightly more commercial focus.” Designers focused on CX may work closely with those in UX, may have similar skills, or may shift back and forth from one field to another. These days, CX design is becoming a distinct and powerful discipline with its own tools, values, and vocabulary.

Strategy

CX strategy is the overall game plan for pursuing optimal customer experience in ways that are appropriate for the objectives and values of a business. It aligns CX prerogatives with larger business plans, determines how investments of time and money will be allocated for CX, maps and connects all relevant touchpoints, and creates harmony between internal resources and customer expectations. For those who love to discover how many different puzzle pieces fit together to form a bigger picture that fosters customer loyalty and delight, CX strategy provides an exciting overhead view.

Tactics

There are many tactics, tools, and techniques for implementing CX strategy on the ground, where the rubber meets the road. Every consumer touchpoint provides an opportunity for comfort-building maneuvers such as email personalization, experimental growth hacks, and the classic elements of great customer service, all of which involve many moving parts that have their places in the greater scheme of Customer Experience and business success.

Culture and Leadership

Great CX must always begin at the top. Mutually rewarding end-to-end customer journeys should resonate with strong, well-defined, harmonious corporate values and missions. To make all this work, great CX requires committed and enthusiastic understanding and leadership in incorporating customer feedback, building from a place of empathy, and envisioning business endeavors in terms of a journey and a process. CX and company culture are interdependent, and they’re everyone’s job, especially those in trusted positions of leadership.

At Artisan Creative, we’re helping to build the teams, the workplaces, and the customer experiences of the future. Contact us today to learn more.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the 523rd issue of our a.blog.

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Cool Job Perks

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2019|

Whatever you do for a living, you’ll be spending a good amount of time on it. Thus, it’s important to choose jobs, gigs, and careers that are aligned with your values, your strengths, your goals, as well as with your sense of adventure and fun.

When you’re job hunting or looking for a new creative career, simply picking an opportunity with the largest salary attached may not lead to as much happiness as you might be expecting. Take some time to look at the whole picture, including job perks that will make your job and the workplace you’ll be spending 8+ hours a day in uniquely welcoming and rewarding. And, if you run a business and you’re hiring talent, consider offering enticing and unusual job perks to help attract the right team that can take your entity to the next level.

Here are a few job perks to consider, from the common to the quirky, to the cool.

Flextime: The ritual of working regular shifts Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 5:00, is based on an old industrial model of workplace efficiency that is not necessarily applicable or useful for all modern businesses. Flextime gives workers and their managers the opportunity to collaborate and create slightly offbeat schedules that may better accommodate the circumstances and needs of everyone involved.

Remote Work: As the capabilities of workplace technology improve exponentially, entirely remote teams will become more and more common. It’s how we’ve been working at Artisan Creative since 2009, and for us (and a lot of our clients), it’s working quite well.

Unlimited Vacations: American workers are notorious for their relative lack of long vacations, but things may be changing. Some top companies are no longer doling out small allotments of PTO and sick time and are switching to something more like an honor system, granting their employees full freedom to vacation as they will and trusting them to do so responsibly.

Fitness & Health Perks: Many employers are becoming more focused on the overall health and wellness of their talent, providing yoga sessions, bikes and other perks that help them feel good and develop good habits, inside and outside of work.

Dry Cleaning: Hate doing laundry? Need to be spotless and wrinkle-free for client meetings and presentations? Consider a job that will steam your pants and tumble-dry your whites, on the house.

Nap Rooms: Naptime may have felt like punishment in kindergarten. Now as a hardworking adult, you could probably use some R&R on the clock. More companies are providing small sanctuaries for meditation, contemplation, or simply catching a few Zs.

Life Coaching: At Artisan, we believe creating the right career is about aligning all aspects of life to orient yourself toward your true values. So we’re entirely in favor of getting a gentle push from a qualified life coach, especially when it’s part of your job.

Ax-Throwing Lessons: Then again, some people need more aggressive catharsis than others. If you want to release some tension and be prepared to kill your own food if necessary, there are job perks out there for you, as well.

Together with our top talent and world-class clients, we’re helping to shape the workplace of the future. Contact Artisan Creative today and discover better ways to work.

We hope you enjoy the 522nd issue of our a.blog.

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Marketing Your Business

Wednesday, April 24th, 2019|

We’re all entrepreneurs now. Whether you’re a creative professional or cultivating a side hustle, your path to consistent and satisfying success is to think of yourself as a business. This means that to get the clients and projects you want, you must master the basics of marketing on a budget.

When you understand the most important principles of marketing, and you’re willing to put in the reasonable amount of effort required, you’ll bring in new business, and you’ll have time to focus on the work you really love.

As you grow your freelancing career, here are a few big marketing ideas to keep in mind.

Build Your Brand

Having a strong personal and professional brand means more than having a concise elevator pitch, although that’s an essential part of it. You must know who you are, what you can do, what values you represent, and how to communicate your identity. When you put your mind and heart into developing your brand, it will pay massive dividends with the people and projects that come into your life.

Work Your Network

As a creative freelancer, some of the most effective marketing you can do is still old-fashioned word-of-mouth. When you provide value to others, attend networking events to engage with your community, and seek out the peers, collaborators, and mentors you wish to cultivate, new resources and opportunities will present themselves in ways you never anticipated.

Prioritize Product-Market Fit

Author Carolyn Tate describes the “four Ps of marketing” – product, pricing, placement, and promotion – and how they’re always interrelated. In the new age of growth hacker marketing, running a business is a constant process of iteration, and great products are built through feedback loops and ongoing processes of community interaction. Remain curious and sensitive to the changing needs of your clients. Let your marketing efforts and your work feed into a constant refinement of improving each other.

Track Your Progress

To better allocate your resources and understand how your marketing is paying off, keep track of your progress and results over time. If you’re not naturally comfortable with numbers, charts, and analytics, you can use one of the many free tools that are available.

Share Your Success

Whether you present your work in an online portfolio, create content to showcase your ideas, or engage with your clients and community through social media, don’t be shy about sharing your best self with the world. It will inspire others, build your own confidence, and bring lots of new opportunities to your doorstep.

Turn Pro

When you start thinking of yourself as a serious professional, something magical happens. If you’re struggling with that transition, or you’re ready to take your creative career or small business to the next level, we can help! Contact Artisan Creative today to take your next step.

We hope you’ve enjoyed issue 518 of our a.blog.

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Reducing Our Footprint at Work

Wednesday, April 17th, 2019|

We only have one earth, and all professionals and businesses share a responsibility to do what we can to take care of it. When we become more mindful of our environmental impact and make more efficient use of our resources, it’s good for the soul, good for the planet, and often good for the budget. We can take inspiration from some of the world’s largest companies and their efforts to be better global citizens. In celebration of Earth Day, here are a few tips for reducing our ecological footprint at work.

Cut the Commute

Whether it takes the form of encouraging ridesharing and mass transit or going partly or entirely remote, reducing time on the road is great for the environment, as well as for stress and spending levels. If you must commute to work, make responsible and productive use of your commuting time, and seek out the wealth of local transportation apps that provide the best options.

Do an Energy Audit

Account for the ways you use electricity in the workplace. Can you switch to more energy-efficient light bulbs? Do simply switch off lights when they’re not in use or leave it for someone else to take care of? Can you rely less on heating and air conditioning? Slight reductions in energy use make a big difference when we all do our part. And, cultivating a more mindful and responsible attitude toward energy can improve all aspects of your work…… awareness is key.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Promote and participate in a workplace recycling program. Avoid buying new supplies until you’ve made full use of what you already have. Whenever you can, make do with less. Oftentimes the most familiar environmentalist wisdom remains the best.

Know Your Supply Chain

You know your business, and you know it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. How well do you understand the processes that surround it, and the full impacts they have? Sustainable procurement is an often-overlooked opportunity to build more environmental responsibility into the business processes that will impact our future.

Change Your Lunch Habits

It’s getting cooler, and easier, to go vegetarian or vegan. Some workplaces are implementing no-meat policies. With remarkable advances in meat substitutes, low-impact diets offer increasingly nutritious and delicious alternatives to fast food. Pay attention to improving what you eat on the job, and you’ll look better, feel better, and help reduce the burden on our species and our planet.

At Artisan Creative, we believe that great work springs from a holistic approach to building careers and lifestyles that serve our true desires. Contact us today to learn more.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the 517^th issue of our a.blog.

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The California Job Market

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019|

California is home to the world’s fifth-largest economy, worth nearly $3 trillion per year. Much of its economic activity is based around Greater Los Angeles (the entertainment capital of the world) and the San Francisco Bay Area (home base of the tech industry).

If you’re building your career in design, technology, or a creative field – or you’re launching or expanding a business of your own – which of these two world-class cultural nodes is a better fit for your skills, goals, and temperament?

San Francisco: All Hands on Tech

The Bay Area served as the cradle for the personal computing revolution of the 1970s, the popularization of the World Wide Web in the ’90s, and the current dominance of giant Silicon Valley corporations such as Google, Apple, and Facebook in global commerce, communication, and culture. It’s the place where engineers and entrepreneurs first fully embraced the world-shifting potential of connected gadgets.

With record-low unemployment and plenty of San Francisco open jobs, designers, developers, marketers, and other tech-savvy creatives are still feeling the love in SF, even as the city deals with staggeringly expensive… well, everything, especially housing. The city has its problems, and it will need its best minds to put their heads together and think up unprecedented solutions – and that’s what the Bay does best.

Fresh opportunities arise at the intersections of tech with other emerging fields, and the tight-knit cultural communities of SF are ideal for the formation of these sorts of symbiotic relationships.

“The Bay Area has a history of bohemianism and sophistication that is now melding with a technology-driven culture,” says author and economic geographer Michael Storper, in conversation with urban studies theorist Richard Florida. “One hopes that the Bay Area will not become a one-horse town, but will retain the mix of culture, criticism, eccentricity, and hard-driving entrepreneurship that has made it so dynamic for so long.”

Los Angeles: The Show Must Grow On

Since the beginnings of film, LA has led the world in entertainment. Now, that’s creating new opportunities in technology and content as tools change, economic power shifts, and showbiz dramatically evolves.

“We’re going through a renaissance at the moment because of the growth of entertainment and content,” says CBRE vice chairman Jeff Pion, in a Curbed exploration of LA’s growth in tech. “There’s a merging of tech and entertainment, and content is king at the moment. The potential for harnessing the existing entertainment workforce in LA immediately is incredible… Five years ago, a founder who wanted to keep their company in LA would get a lot of questions. Today, it’s like, why do I need to be anywhere else?”

Bay Area beasts such as Google and Facebook have bustling offices in Silicon Beach, as well. And SoCal is home to its own thriving breed of tech unicorns. With its deliberate and widely supported efforts to improve mass transit, build more affordable housing, and mitigate the stifling effects of its legendary urban sprawl, LA city is rising to the challenges of changing times. Los Angeles open jobs are more interesting and diverse than ever before.

“LA has had some hard economic times, but there is no doubt that it is an increasingly worldly city with an effervescent artistic and intellectual culture,” says Storper. What LA needs is to harness these advantages to better fundamentals: better and denser leadership structures, more connectedness among economic communities, more employment density, better basic education, and a focus on skills.”

Golden State of Mind

Los Angeles and San Francisco are both changing landscapes. Creative professionals and business leaders in both cities are defying outmoded stereotypes to nurture new ideas, build new communities, and help determine the futures of the places they love.

There’s much more to LA than great food and warm weather. And SF isn’t just for hippies and geeks.

Artisan Creative has many years of experience in the San Francisco and Los Angeles markets. We’re immersed in their communities, we pay attention to changes, and we see new opportunities as they emerge. Contact us today to start building your own California dream.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our 515th a.blog.

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14 Apps We Love

Wednesday, February 6th, 2019|

Your phone is what you make of it. With the right apps installed, it can be a trusted colleague and collaborator, a tool for boosting your productivity, enhancing your creativity, and making your life more interesting.

It’s a good idea to, every so often, go through your apps, delete the ones that don’t spark curiosity, creativity, or productivity and replace them with new ones that help you crush your commute and get more juice from your screen time.

As our Valentine’s Day gift to you, here’s a bouquet of apps that focus us at work, help us relax at home, and generally delight us. Try a new one and let us know what you think!

Notebook [ iOS | Android]

The right note-taking app helps you to, in the words of business guru Tiago Forte, “build a second brain.” We love Zoho’s Notebook for its attractive interface and intuitive card-based system of organization.

Otter [iOS | Android]

For those of us who love to think out loud, Otter’s well-organized voice recorder is essential for catching elusive ideas, immortalizing snippets of rambling conversations, or launching when you wake up to make sure you remember that breakthrough idea you had in a dream last night.

Hopper [iOS | Android]

Travel indubitably broadens the mind, and its logistics can take their toll on one’s patience. With this brilliant flight-booking app, you can save your extra heartbeats for all the new vistas you’ll explore.

Buddhify [iOS | Android]

There’s a gold rush in meditation and mindfulness apps. This one stands out by virtue of its grounding in Rohan Gunatillake’s mindful design principles. Buddhify is flat-out beautiful, with a rich and playful UX that makes it ideal for beginners or anyone who feels a bit lost in establishing a practice.

VSCO [iOS | Android]

VSCO is for anyone who loves the creative side of photography and image manipulation, especially those who want to take their Instagram feeds to the next level. Its filtering tools can help almost anyone post high-quality digital images. Professional designers and photogs swear by it.

Snapseed [iOS | Android]

Here’s another essential image-editing tool for anyone who wants to keep alive the aesthetic principles of great photography in the era of social media. If you wonder how your favorite influencers always make their lemon wedges look so juicy and crisp, this might be your answer.

Chess – Play and Learn [iOS | Android]

Make a playdate with your inner strategist. Whether you’re a beginner or a master, the sleek design of this app makes it easy to love this timeless game of intellect.

Pocket [iOS | Android]

From long reads to listicles, Pocket makes it easy to stay caught up with all the great written content you may find around the web. Robust tagging enables you to organize your library, and the vastly improved text-to-speech capabilities mean you can catch up on your “reading” while you commute, work out, or do the dishes.

Stoop [iOS | Android]

Email newsletter subscriptions are a wonderful way to immerse yourself in niche subjects or to get informed on a broad range of current events. With Stoop, you can now organize and keep up with all your favorite newsletters without overwhelming your inbox.

Zoom [iOS | Android]

Zoom is one of the most innovative video meeting and conference-room apps. It gets a special mention here for its addition of “driving mode,” which may actually save on car repair bills.

Pocket Casts [iOS | Android]

Podcasting keeps getting better. Take advantage of the booming audio renaissance with this robust platform for podcasts. It has one of the most user-friendly interfaces for an app of its kind, allowing for better discovery and a more engaging listening experience.

Brain.fm [iOS | Android]

If you use music as a tool to relax, to focus, or to get things done, this unusual audio app may be the one you’ve been waiting for. With settings for “deep work,” meditation, sleep, and more, it lets you choose the state of mind you want and selects music tracks to match. It began as a cult favorite among coders, and now the secret is out.

7 Cups [iOS | Android]

In a time of increasing awareness of the tolls of depression, anxiety, and mental illness, not everyone has easy access to therapy. This revolutionary self-help app connects users with trained “listeners,” along with motivational exercises and a supportive community. 7 Cups may be a big clue to what the future of therapy may look like.

Moment [iOS | Android]

If you’re worried you may be spending too much time on your phone, or you want to encourage your kids to learn to better manage their screen time, the “gentle and compassionate” Moment app can help regain some digital agency. It gives you an inventory of how you engage with your device throughout the day and, if you don’t like the results, provides coaching to help you take more mindful charge of your eyeballs.

At Artisan Creative, we believe life and work are interrelated and we take a holistic approach to help teams and careers exceed expectations. Contact us today to start the conversation.

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Using CE to Boost Your CV

Wednesday, January 30th, 2019|

Technology is changing the world continuously, and the world of business is changing with it. To seize the best creative professional opportunities, it’s increasingly necessary to adopt the posture of a lifelong learner. You may choose to go back to school to supplement your education or become an avid and engaged student at the school of life.

As a creative professional, updating your Curriculum Vitae (CV) at regular intervals is a must. Make sure that, when that time comes, you have useful and fascinating things to add. Here are four quick pointers on how to take advantage of an increasing array of opportunities for continuing education.

Get Schooled

Graduate programs, trade schools, and boot camps provide opportunities to immerse yourself in acquiring new knowledge and skills. You can also build your network by working closely and in-person with teachers, mentors, and peers. If you have the time, money, and bandwidth to devote to it, this sort of continuing education can supply you with Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or certifications that can enhance your next career advancement.

School Yourself

If you want to save time and money, and you have the self-discipline required for distance learning, the internet provides a rich bounty of opportunities to engage with any subject you can imagine. Skillshare, Teachable, Khan Academy, and LinkedIn Learning are just a few of the platforms that provide substantial continuing education online. Through Coursera, university-level courses are available with the support of many higher learning institutions. Anyone interested in professional growth can easily explore the vast and expanding landscape of modern e-learning.

Participate in Your Community

Classes, networking events, professional associations, and volunteer work opportunities in your area can help you get the lay of the land, find out where your passions intersect with market demands, meet people who can help you find the right opportunities for success, and build your resume, portfolio, and CV. Stay informed, so you have interesting things to say. Look around and ask yourself, “how can I help?” With a positive attitude towards service, you’ll establish yourself and build strong alliances soon enough.

Ask Your Creative Recruiter

The benefits of working with creative recruiters include access to resources, inside information, actionable insight, and opportunities for training, testing, skill-building, and peer interaction. At Artisan Creative, we have decades of experience in professional self-actualization, and we know how to help you build a resume and develop the body of work that best suits you. If you want some more oomph in your CV, contact Artisan today.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the 507th issue of the a.blog.

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Selecting Your Recruitment Partner

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019|

Challenges around staffing, hiring, and human resources are ever-changing. They take time, money, know-how, and people power. Sometimes they can distract from other priorities your team needs to be focusing on. That’s why many businesses work with recruiting partners, outside agents with specific experience in finding, vetting and placing talented job-seekers.

As a business decision-maker, you have a range of recruiting partners to choose from. When evaluating your options, it’s crucial to ask the right questions in order to find the recruiters and agencies that best suit your needs.

Specific Industry Focus

To get the best results for your search and to fill the roles you need to fill, specificity is your friend. For every industry, there are recruiters who exclusively focus on that area. For example, if you are focused on creative work, your most effective partner is one who lives in the creative space, who knows how that world works and thrives in the creative culture and lifestyle. This holds true for whatever business you’re in. You may decide to work with a generalist agency with different areas of focus, make sure the people you engage with directly have an intimate understanding of your work and the people who do it.

Track Record of Success

Good recruiting partners take pride in the work they’ve done for other clients. When gauging potential partners, check out testimonials on the web or ask your peers and colleagues for advice and referrals. If you’re unsure, schedule a call or meeting and ask for years of experience, case studies, processes and results for roles similar to yours.

The Candidate’s Perspective

When evaluating how a recruiting partner picks and matches their talent, consider the candidate’s point of view. Are the recruiter’s processes optimized to bring on board and successfully vet that specific skillset? Does the recruiting firm’s core values, culture, marketing, and mission fit with the attitudes of the talent you want to attract? If you need candidates with particular skills, or who can pass a particular background check, can you rely on this agency’s expertise to bring you those candidates? Connect with someone who is an expert in searching for candidates you’ll love to hire.

Harmony of Process

When considering a recruiting partner, find one with a rich talent pool of readily available candidates, as that’s only half the battle. You’ll also want to ensure that the recruiters understand the rhythms of your hiring process and can work smoothly on your terms. Will you need to staff up quickly on short notice? Your recruiting partner should be able to find and vet appropriate talent on tight turnarounds. Do you favor a slower, more thorough hiring process, with multiple rounds of interviews? Look for a recruiting partner who will work with you diligently to find the exact talent you need. Would you rather outsource an entire project to an external team? Make sure your recruiters have the connections in place to make that happen.

Get It in Writing

Feel free to ask tough questions of your potential partners, and make sure you’re both clear and concrete on all details and machinations of your agreement. How does the process work? How is communication handled between you, your recruiting partner, and the people they place with you? If difficulties arise, who takes responsibility for what? Business relationships go best when everyone is in sync from the start. Good recruiting partners will align with your values, answer all your questions in the spirit of full transparency.

At Artisan Creative, we have 23+ years of experience in creative and marketing talent, a strong network of a.players, and a passion for exceeding client expectations. Contact us today to start the conversation.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our 506th a.blog.

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Workplace Trends in 2019

Wednesday, January 16th, 2019|

Every day new talent enters the workforce, with new skills, new experiences, and even new expectations. Various industries will become more diverse, others will hang on as long as they can before they disappear. Innovations in technology will impact our careers and our lives.

A new year brings new changes. Existing currents will strengthen, fade, or continue. Here are five trends that we believe will shape the workplace in 2019 and beyond. These are already in progress.

Emphasis on Purpose, Wellness, and Growth

Surveys of younger workers indicate they feel happier and more accomplished when they work for companies with a sense of purpose, have flexible work schedules and offer continuous learning.

With a greater need for skilled and experienced labor, employers will provide new opportunities for training, upskilling, and mentorship. This will coincide with greater awareness of mental health and the unwavering importance of personal and financial stability. Ideally, these trends will lead toward professional relationships that are more mindful, more respectful, and better built to last.

Adaptation to AI and Automation

Artificial intelligence and automation will continue to rise. Some occupations will decline, some will become far more powerful, and many people will find themselves partnering with new robotic coworkers. Much workplace activity will involve new training and new priorities to accommodate these new technologies until they become invisible.

Strength In Diversity

Recent controversies in the workplace are reshaping entire industries, making them more welcoming for women, minorities, and others who struggle against discrimination. Creating diverse workplaces and nurturing a culture for all isn’t just good karma; it’s necessary for doing business. Those who embrace changes and opportunities will help define commerce and culture for the years ahead.

Generation Z Goes to Work

The oldest members of “Gen Z” will turn 23, and many will join the workforce, of which this rising cohort will comprise an estimated 36% by 2020. They will usher in new expectations around technological competence. As Debby Carreau of Inspired HR said, “Even if you’re not a member of Gen Z you’ll start seeing software strategies, solutions and training trickling into your workplace; because if your organization doesn’t offer them, Gen Z will find an employer that will in short order.”

Meanwhile, members of older generations will continue to work longer and adapt their wisdom and experience to new circumstances. Chip Conley outlines this beautifully in his article calling himself a mentern (a mentor and an intern simultaneously).

Thus, we come back to the power of communication. If you are the sort of person who knows how to help the members of these different groups better communicate and more effectively work together, you will reap significant dividends in the years to come.

Change is the only constant. At Artisan Creative, we have years of experience in helping creative professionals and organizations thrive in times of change. Contact us today to learn more.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the 505th issue of our a.blog.

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Job Search Best Practices

Wednesday, January 9th, 2019|

The beginning of a new year is a time to try new things, spruce up your perspective, and take stock of the opportunities in front of you. As a creative professional, you can take this cue to get serious about your job hunt. You’ll increase your odds of success when you act mindfully and deliberately and know clearly what you’re going to accomplish.

Whether you’re angling to rejoin the workforce, looking for a new role that better matches your goals, or simply want to keep your job-search skills sharper, here are some best practices that will give you an edge and help you find work you’ll love.

Know What You Want

Before you begin your search, take the time to form a clear vision of the job you’d most want to have, with the company that best aligns with your objectives and values. Then, you’ll have clear guidelines on the sorts of opportunities you’re best suited for, and that best suit you in return. Spend an hour or two to tailor your resume, write a passionate cover letter, and complete a thoughtful job application for an opportunity you really want; it’s worth the time rather than many more hours of applying for jobs at random.

Specificity Kills Ambiguity

Be specific about your skills, write out what you’ve achieved, and how you hope to grow in the future. When you crystallize your goals and can see them in detail, you’ll find your job search gets more efficient when you explore the right niches. Collaborate with a creative recruiter to narrow down your job hunt and save yourself a lot of effort, time, and uncertainty.

Handle Your SEO

As part of cultivating the professional image you want to project, it’s increasingly essential that you pay close attention to how you appear on social media and the web. Make sure your digital portfolio and any associated sites are up-to-date and portray you in the way you want to be seen by recruiters, hiring managers, and others in your industry. Plan to get professional mileage from your social media channels, particularly LinkedIn, or lock down personal accounts if you don’t want them to be seen by curious strangers.

Work Your Network

The beginning of the year is a fine time to check in with your contacts. It’s easy to let your mentors and peers know you acknowledge and appreciate them. A quick note can pay massive dividends throughout the year. If you’re feeling lonesome, schedule some networking events. Commit to expanding your horizons and put yourself out there. A small interpersonal risk can go a long way.

Be the Best Version of Yourself

Getting specific, helps you appreciate the talents and skills that set you apart from the rest. Eliminate jargon and buzzwords from your resume and focus on ways in which you really stand out. Regard yourself as a brand and zoom in on the aspects that differentiate you from others. Learn from your experiences, emphasize your strengths, work on your weaknesses, and approach your job search from a spirit of optimism. When you’re unique, there’s no competition.

At Artisan Creative, we have decades of experiences in connecting creative professionals with the opportunities that help them soar. Take advantage of this season of renewal. Contact us today to get your 2019 off on the right foot and get the support you need to thrive through the year and throughout your career.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the 504th issue of the a.blog.

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